Aqua's Return
by krissrhapsodos-otakai93
Summary: As Aqua finally begins to lose all hope in returning to the light, she is saved from the darkness by a mysterious man who bears a striking resemblance to Terra, her former teammate and best friend, and even wears his armor. How will she react to the changes that have taken place in the world during the 80 years that passed while she was lost in the dark? COMPLETED AT LAST!
1. Prologue

It's been so long...

I can't seem to smile anymore... It's been a while since I've stopped feeling their presence in my heart. Ven... Terra...

Where are you?

I felt rather strange that day, as if the darkness was permeated my something impure. I wanted to dismiss it as my imagination, but the feeling was there, and if anything kept me alive and sane throughout the time that I've spent wandering the darkness, it was my feelings, so I decided to look into it. I walked the darkness in search of what could have been the disturbance, but i found little worthy of mention. Maybe my feelings were tricking me. Maybe I WAS fading away into the darkness, now that Ven and Terra's presences were no longer there with me.

Something stirred within the void. Now this was DEFINITELY something I could not ignore, because it was close. My emotions began to flood right back into me when I saw what it was- who it was.

The stranger who dropped down into the darkness was radiating a light like nothing I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty. He was kneeling before me like a slave, with a sword of light in his right hand and a shield in his left. His face was radiating so much light that I couldn't see it's features. I was just standing there, dumbfounded at the first light that I've seen in what could have been decades. I began to cry as I was bathed in that light, it felt so good, but it only filled me with more despair, because if that creature of brilliant light was stuck down there with me, what chance had I to ever leave here, to fulfill my promise to Ven?

I fell to my knees in pretty much the same position the warrior of light was kneeling and began to cry my heart out. I wanted it all to end so badly, my isolation, my distance from my friends. Just then, I saw the warrior stand up and approach me. He was lifting his sword high above his head, as if preparing to strike me with it, but I just sat there, helpless, still crying. I knew I was about to die, but I no longer cared. It was about time, anyway. I closed my eyes and slipped away into a dream as I awaited the lethal strike that was to end me.

"Aqua. It's been a while"

"Ven! I'm sorry..."

"Why are you crying?"

"I couldn't keep my promise to you. I'm so sorry..."

"Calm down now."

"Terra?"

"Don't worry. We're looking down on you, smiling. And all we ask is that..."

"...You smile back, Aqua."

I opened my eyes and found myself in a strange place. There was a boy looking down at me.

"She's awake! Bring Keres here immediately!" The boy was shouting orders at... Unversed?

Just then, another man walked into the room. He was rather tall, with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in armor from neck to toe, and he was- wait... That armor...

"I see you're awake, Aqua," He said and walked to me. I tried getting up, but the pain from my shoulder was too much, so I just lay back down. "You're injured. Don't tire yourself out."

"After all," the other boy, who was blond, with messy hair and blue eyes continued. "we don't want you bleeding out, now do we?"

"Terra?" I barely managed to whisper.

"Yeah, about that..." The man wearing Terra's armor said. "Very much time has passed while you were down there, in the darkness. How long was it, Reg?"

"Little over 80 years," The blond boy, who looked WAY too much like Ventus, replied. "Things have changed, Aqua. Terra and Ven are long gone."

"... it's been that long?" I began to cry again. I could never see my friends again, even though I was saved from the darkness. It was pointless now.

"Aqua..." The man in the armor walked toward me and wiped my tears away. "Don't worry. It will be alright. Just let yourself rest. I'm Keres, by the way. If you ever need to talk, Reg is here, and he can call me over here if you'd like."

I found myself unable to reply to him, but just stared into his pale blue eyes instead. He was the one that saved me. I knew it. I just knew.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2


	2. Chapter I

I woke up the next day to the sound of someone knocking on my room door. I tried getting up from the bed again, and this time I actually managed to stand and walk all the way to the door and open it, and there stood Reginald on the other end of the door. He seemed surprised that I was actually out of bed, as he just stood there, gawking at me. I just stared blankly at his face until he snapped out of it. He actually looked kinda cute as he blushed.

"Sorry for staring, Aqua," the boy said, his face getting redder by the second.

"It's okay," I replied, giggling at him. "Did you need anything?"

"Uh, Keres actually sent me here to, erm, see if you, uh, needed anything?" He stuttered a bit while he talked, turning my giggle to a laugh.

"I'm good, thank you, Reg," I smiled. "Tell Keres thank you for me, okay?"

"Oh, actually," Reginald said as if remembering something important. "why don't you tell him yourself, since you can walk now? But let's get you dressed first. You can't go out in the cold with nothing but a patient's gown on, can you?"

"Huh?" I was actually a bit confused at that, until I looked down and saw that I was wearing a small gown resembling the ones worn by patients at hospitals. "Oh, actually let me just get in my-"

"I'm afraid your clothes are, uh, damaged beyond repair, Aqua," he said, blushing again.

"What do you mean?" He thrust a gray shirt and a pair of dark blue denim pants at me, and gave me a pair of shoes.

"Just put these on and Keres will tell you the whole story," he said and ran off. "Gotta run, see ya!"

That boy reminded me of Ven so much, I shed a few tears on the clothes that he gave me. God, I missed them so much...

I put on my new clothes and walked out of the room, limping just a little bit. I didn't remember being injured before, so it came as kind of a shock to me when I tripped and fell on the ground. I got back up and continued walking until I was out of the building. What I saw wen I got outside would leave a scar on me for the rest of my days. There were tendrils of light in the distance, upon which were impaled hundreds of people and other creatures that resembled Unversed and Heartless. The sight of death alone was bad enough, but the fact that it was LIGHT that caused it was enough to strike within me a fear unlike any other I had experienced.

"Welcome back to the realm of light, 82 years later," I heard Keres sigh. He wasn't dressed in his armor this time. Instead, he was wearing a trenchcoat and black pants, with long boots and a tight shirt under the coat. "The tides have turned in the battle against Darkness, Aqua. The light decided to get on the offensive, and this is the result. Complete eradication of all who stand against the ruthless conquest of the Light. Rather than defend its denizens, it is now killing the denizens of the darkness."

"That's awful..."

"When the light gets too strong, it will blind those who look at it instantly. Such is the case with the followers of the Light. First, it was the potential destroyers of the light, those of the Dark who wished to turn light into darkness. Now, anyone who opposes the senseless killing of all those who are suspected of affiliation with the darkness will be killed as well. The power of light has grown so strong that it blinded those who wield it."

"And you're against that?" I asked.

"Of course I am," Keres snapped at me, surprising me. "I'm sorry, but I lost everyone to the inquisitions of Light, except for my brother, Reginald. We nearly lost you, too."

"Huh?"

"That creature of light, the one you stumbled upon in the realm of Darkness, was sent to kill all those it found. Including you. I managed to reach you just before that bastard struck you with the finishing blow. Hence your wounds and your ripped clothing."

"Oh..." Everything was finally starting to add up. I started to cry again, and before I knew it, Kriss was standing in front of me, wiping away my tears yet again.

"I know it's hard to bear, Aqua," he spoke softly, trying to comfort me.

"Why do you remind me of Terra so much?" I sobbed. Maybe that was why I felt okay crying in front of him. Immediately I saw his face contort into a frown. "What's wrong?"

"Why does everyone compare me to him?" He half growled. "I'm nothing like Terra. Like Xehanort! Just because I'm his Keyblade successor's grandson, doesn't mean I'm like him!"

"What do you mean, Xehanort?"

"Terra lost the battle against Xehanort. He lost his body 80 years ago. The one you saved was not Terra. The time you spent wandering the darkness was all in vain!" He was shouting at me. I was so shocked I could barely comprehend what he said to me.

"Then why did you bring me back?" I whimpered.

"I DON'T KNOW!" He was practically screaming now. "I don't know, okay?!"

Just then, Reginald stormed out of the Safehouse.

"They're almost at castle Oblivion!"

"Who?" Keres asked coldly.

"Yen Sid's Army!"

To be continued in Chapter 2


	3. Chapter II

Keres and Reg led me through the entrance of the hideout, down the staircase to the basement, and through a hidden trapdoor to a secret room underground. There, in the room, there were lots of others, all dressed like they were heading to some sort of trench war. There were, all in all, five people, aside from Keres, Reginald and me.

"Welcome, Aqua," Keres said. "To the Rebels' main center of operations. We are the Spades, the leaders of the defending force of darkness. You already know me and Reg, but the rest will introduce themselves to you."

A tall, Purple haired woman who looked like she was in her late thirties walked up to me and held out her hand. Something didn't feel right about her, but I shook her hand nervously, purely out of courtesy. She made me feel nervous.

"I'm Garnet," She said in an elegant tone. "the godmother of the Spades. It's such a pleasure to have you here, Aqua. I know you're nervous, but don't worry. As long as you don't show any hesitation to fight for our cause, you will always be welcome here."

"Thanks, Ma'am," I replied. She really wasn't that good at easing people's tension, I figured that much about her.

Another one walked in up to me. This one was the polar opposite of Garnet. She was bubbly, lively, and VERY loud. She had bright pink hair, she was quite a bit shorter than me, and she had lavender eyes.

"HI!" She practically squealed at me. "I'm Joy! Nice to meet you!" She shook my hand so vigorously I thought it was going to fall off. It was annoying, but I have to admit she was really cute. I wondered how she became a Spade.

"I can kinda see why you're called Joy," I said, and she laughed like a little kid.

The third one was a man, even taller than Keres, who had long, silver hair and only the slightest hint of facial hair. He looked young, but I knew better than to judge people by how they look. Instead of shaking my hand, he only stared into my eyes, making me feel colder than I ever have in my life. After what felt like forever, he looked away, and I immediately felt relieved. My legs could hardly hold me up anymore.

"My name is Alfred," said the mysterious long-haired man. "terribly sorry about that. I can hardly control my optical abilities anymore." He looked genuinely regretful about it.

"It's okay, Alfred," I couldn't help but say to him. I felt that there was more to this frightening figure than met the eyes.

The fourth Spade was a boy, about the same age as Reginald. He had brown hair, not unlike Keres', but he was a little bit gloomy. His eyes were green.

"I'm Kazuki," he said in a bit of a bored tone. "I'm the tech-geek here, and I also take care of designing weaponry, but I can cross swords with the best of 'em. I hope we can have a duel later on. You game?" That was kind of sudden, but it was an intriguing offer.

"Can't wait." I gave him a sinister smile. His return smile was almost maniacal, but it actually made me laugh on the inside.

The last one of them, whom I hadn't noticed before, turned out to be an all-too-familiar one. Black, spiky hair, golden eyes, and a truly evil look on his face, he was one face I could never have forgotten all my life. But, as a Spade, I didn't go for his throat, for once.

"Vanitas," I growled at him. I hated him with all that was left of my heart. "Can't say I was dying to see you again."

"Oh, Aqua," Vanitas mockingly huffed. "You break my heart. Eighty years apart, and this is the treatment you give me?"

"You know each other?" Keres asked me, obviously surprised at this little exchange of... pleasantries.

"Let's just say we're old acquaintances... Very old." Vanitas was really getting on my nerves, talking like that. He had a hell of a lot of nerve to talk like that after he basically ruined the life of me and all of my friends.

"Let's please get to the point, here," Garnet said, impatient. Reg never missed a beat answering her.

"The army of Yen Sid has reached Castle Oblivion," He said in a serious tone, unlike his usual tone. "and they're preparing to attack. They said they're giving us three days' time to prepare for war."

"Here's what we're going to do..." Keres laid out the battle plan for the defense of the castle. I was meant to be the defender of the west wing, on the inside of the castle. Also defending the interior were Alfred, Joy, and, much to my dismay, Vanitas, on the east wing, north gate, and heart of the castle, respectively.

"We Spades will retreat into the interior when our armies on the outside are defeated. Vanitas is the furthest inside because he controls the Unversed, which will make up most of our armies-"

"Wait, UNVERSED?" I was honestly indignant about the fact that I had to join forces with the very forces of darkness I was tasked to strike down many years ago.

"Yes, Aqua, Unversed. They are forces of darkness, just like us, only now their purpose is to defend the dark, not attack the light."

I wouldn't have any of that. It was bad enough that I had to team up with Vanitas, but the Unversed? I was way too confused for all of this. I stormed back out of the hideout, crying once again. This was way too much for me to comprehend.

To be continued in Chapter 3


	4. Chapter III

"Aqua-"

"Don't even talk to me, Keres," I shouted at him, tears streaming down my eyes. "You want me to side with the UNVERSED?! How could you?! You only brought me back so you could use me, right?!"

"Aqua, it is NOT like that. I brought you back because I wanted to see for myself the object of Vanitas' vendetta. HE could have cared less if you took Yen Sid's side, GARNET thought we could use you, but I-"

"You what, Keres? Why did you go in there and save me?" He brought his eyes out of my stare and looked down on the ground. He looked so much like Terra, it made me lose feeling in my legs, and I fell down on my knees, burying my face in my hands and crying loudly. Suddenly, I felt him embrace me, kneeling down with me. I stopped sobbing out of surprise, and just looked him in the eyes. He was crying too.

"You're thinking of Terra, aren't you?" He said trying to hide his shaky voice. "I did it because I couldn't stand to see you die there, in the darkness. I did it because I wanted to... Because I..."

"Keres...?" No, it wasn't Keres kneeling before me now. It was a long lost friend, finally come back for me.

"I was tasked with only observing you at first. I saw what you've been through. Every part of it. Your suffering, your longing for them, for HIM. I hated him so much, I couldn't help but feel like I needed someone to restrain my hateful obsession with that bastard. And that someone was you. Aqua, I... I've gone MAD about you. YOU were my new obsession."

"What are you saying, Keres?"

"I LOVE you, Aqua," he said, no longer hiding his shakiness. I couldn't see him anymore, and for a few seconds, nothing was real anymore. Not the war with the Light, not the Unversed, not Yen Sid, not even Terra. The only ones that existed were Keres and I. When those blissful seconds were over, and i came back to the real world, I realised something that shocked me and made me feel immensely satisfied at the same time. Keres had kissed me.

To be continued in chapter 4

Sorry this chapter is so much shorter than the others, it was meant to be a Valentine's day special, but I had no time to upload it yesterday, so here it is now :3


	5. Chapter IV

All my life I thought of Terra as the closest person to my heart. Ven was a friend, and a great one at that, but there was something I felt towards Terra that was much more than just friendship. That is, of course, until I met Keres. He was so much like Terra, but nothing like him at the same time. He even kissed me. But I didn't know whether my feelings for Keres were real, or if I was just using him as a surrogate for Terra. That made me feel terribly guilty. I didn't want to manipulate him, just because he reminded me of Terra, but I just couldn't help it.

"Hey, Keres?"

"Yeah?" He looked amazing under the faux-moon's light.

"Tell me," I asked nervously. "Was there ever someone in your life whose memory you couldn't let go, no matter how hard you tried?"

There was a long pause. A tear streamed down Keres' face, but he smiled. "My sister," he answered. "She was killed by the same god-forsaken freak that was about to kill you. Along with the rest of my family."

"I'm sorry," I said. His story was a tragic one, whichever way you look at it. He lost his family and his home. I could see why he hated the Light so much.

"Don't be. She was dear to me, but I think she's better off that way. Better than living in exile and battle for the rest of her days, isn't it?"

"What was her name?" I asked.

"Rona," He said. "She was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as you, Aqua." I blushed at that. I had been called intelligent, successful, worthy, powerful, a true keyblade master. But beautiful? That one was new to me. Keres stood up.

"Let's get back in there. We don't want Vanitas getting the spotlight of the meeting, do we?" He chuckled.

"Like hell we are," I smiled at him.

I stood up and walked back to the meeting room with Keres. When we got there, Joy did a happy squeal and Garnet sighed in relief. There were similar reactions around the room, but Vanitas' reaction pissed me off. He summoned a tall, thin unversed and had it bow down to me. I tried summoning my keyblade, but it wouldn't appear. Vanitas began laughing like a maniac.

"The frustration and confusion, I can TASTE them!" He laughed on. "Haven't you forgotten? You threw away your keyblade and armor when you "saved" Terra. Without them, you're practically worthless!"

"SHUT UP!" Keres shouted at him. He stretched his arm forward, summoning a keyblade himself. His keyblade looked like a distorted, darker version of Terra's. He wasn't playing around. "Don't talk to her like that, you disgusting piece of crap!"

"Woah, easy there," Kazuki stood between them. "How the hell do you expect to beat Yen Sid when you guys can't stop fighting amongst yourselves?"

"You know, he has a point, Keres," Garnet said tensely. "Put that away. Now."

"Keres, it's okay," I said. As much as I wanted to see someone put Vanitas in his place, now was not the time for a fight.

"You're lucky Garnet interfered, punk," Keres spat before putting away his Keyblade. Vanitas took the hint and made the Unversed disappear. For the first time, I saw an expression on his face that wasn't mockery or rage, but close to worry. Fear, even. Apparently, he and Keres must have clashed before, and that made him think twice about picking a fight with him. I could tell Keres was a force to be reckoned with.

"Indeed he is, Aqua," Alfred said. Everyone, including me, gave him a weird look. "I'm sorry, I cast one glance into your eyes, and I read your thoughts. Like I said, my optical powers are becoming harder to control, so I beg your pardon."

"Oh, it's uh, okay, hehehe..." I said, a bit creeped out. The rest of them just laughed, and we resumed our strategic discussion. Luckily for me, though, Vanitas didn't give me that mocking look he always does, so I was able to focus on what Garnet was saying. If we carried this out properly, we could even make a comeback at the forces of Light. When the meeting was over, I went back to the room where I was when I woke up. It was only afternoon, but it was pretty dark, and I had nothing left to do, so I faded out into a nap.

"Aqua..."

"Terra?" I called out to him. "Terra?! Where are you?"

"Why do you side with the darkness? Don't you remember what happened to me?"

"Terra, WHERE ARE YOU?!" I was getting desperate. I HAD to see his face once more.

"It doesn't matter where I am," his voice said to me. "What matters is where your heart is. Are you sure this is the fate you want for yourself?"

"TERRA!"

"Wake up, Aqua... Wake up..."

"... Wake the hell up, Aqua!" I opened my eyes and saw Reginald shaking me. A dream?

"Uhh..." I groaned.

"You were shouting in your sleep, I got worried!" He said. "Something about Terra. Bad dream?"

"Y-yeah," I sighed. "Just a bad dream."

"Oh, I'm glad," He heaved a sigh. God, he was too adorable. "By the way, Kazuki said he wanted to meet you outside."

"Oh? Tell him I'll be right there." Not missing a beat, Reg ran off. What could Kazuki want with me?

Suddenly I remembered the deal we had made back at the meeting room, and I smiled to myself.

To be continued in chapter 5


	6. Chapter V

Out in the field, there stood Kazuki, and there were about 80 people around him, Spades included, just sitting there. That sneaky bastard got a freaking audience for our fight.

"Hey, Aqua," Kazuki said, smirking. "Remember what we were saying about a spar back at the meeting room? Or are you gonna chicken out?"

"Like hell I am," I said to him, smirking back. "I was just waiting for you to gather up enough lucky charms for the fight, that's all. Hope you have a medic ready."

I could hear the audience go "ooooohh" at the insult. Kazuki merely smiled and drew two small swords from the holsters behind his back.

"Oh, I got a medic ready. To heal YOU. Let's see if your skills are as sharp as your tongue, bluehead." That did it. NOW I was mad. Again, I tried summoning the keyblade, and again it didn't work. I was caught off guard for a second, and Kazuki rushed me, striking me with a kick to the chin. I was knocked back a few feet, and Kazuki just stood above me and smirked.

"What's wrong, Aqua? Cat got your weapon?" He laughed. I gave him a sinister smile back, and he instantly stopped laughing when he saw what was in my right hand. I had taken one of his swords from him at exactly the moment his kick landed.

"Not really, but you should watch out before I get yours!" I shouted back at him, somersaulting and hitting him with a kick to his chin. Sweet payback.

When he got back up, he rushed at me, and I dodged sideways, avoiding his blade. Instead of being caught off guard though, he rolled on the floor and jumped right back at me. I continued to dodge successfully, hoping to wear him out. Then, I heard someone in the crowd gasp "She's finished. No one survives that." Instantly, his attacks got faster, and took on the pattern of a pentagram around me, no longer even trying to hit me. Wasn't he getting tired? This time, instead of dodging, I blocked his attack completely with my blade, and he halted right in his tracks. What I saw then made me suspect my sanity for a second and drop my guard for quite a bit longer. His face had contorted into a horrific visage that could never have been human. This was far more frightening than any Unversed I had ever fought. No, this was evil incarnate. When I came back to my senses, I was back in the bed I was in when I first got here. Again I was covered in bandages. Again Reg was looking down at me.

"Damn, Aqua, you shouldn't have done that," He said, concerned.

"What happened?" I shook my head and sat up slowly. "All I did was block his attack."

"Yeah, THAT's where you went wrong," I heard Kazuki say. "Both my blades connected, and that released IT."

"It?" I looked at him quizzically.

"Yeah, see," he continued. "My body is the home of an ancient demon, Akuma. The swords help me control Akuma, but when they clash, his power is released, with my body as a vessel. These blade were never meant to clash with my speed and your precision. When Akuma was released, I basically beat the living crap out of you, and you didn't even feel it, because just the sight of Akuma's face is enough to completely paralyze and numb his victims. You're lucky Reg was there to save you from me. Sorry about that."

"Wait, Reg, you saved me?"

"Oh, i-it wasn't a b-big deal, haha..." He was back to his old, embarrassed self. I kissed him on the cheek and his face went so red, you'd think it was a tomato.

"This is your reward, for saving me." I giggled. He just blushed really hard. Keres then walked into the room.

"Cheating, are we? Tsk tsk tsk," He said jokingly. He was dressed in his armor and I could SWEAR I saw bloodstains on it.

"Oh, GOD, Keres! Is that blood?! Are you alright?" I was panicking as I jumped up from the bed and rushed right to him. He looked a bit bewildered for a second, but then he suddenly laughed. He ruffled my hair and kissed me on the top of my head. That was a bit annoying, but I was relieved to know that he wasn't hurt.

"Ah, relax," he said in a chuckle. "It's not even mine. Don't worry." I got tense again and looked him in the eyes as if demanding an explanation.

"What? I just ran into a few Blutengels, that's all." He looked at me as if he had done nothing wrong. I suddenly remembered what Terra said to me in my dream. I was shocked that he could so easily kill without remorse.

"Keres, you're just killing them, just like that?"

"Aqua, the Blutengels are Yen Sid's forces. We're SUPPOSED to kill them," it was Reginald who spoke this time. I cast him a look that said "don't tell me you just said what I thought you did". "It's a fact Aqua. We don't kill them, they kill us. One of them nearly killed you."

"You're not going soft, are you, Bluehead?" Kazuki mocked. I was too shocked at how casual killing was around here. Even Reg felt no remorse about killing, and he didn't look or act like he could hurt a fly. I started to feel weak, and fell to the floor, fainting.

To be continued in chapter 6


	7. Chapter VI

"Aqua..."

"Ven?! Where are you? Please let me see you!"

"I didn't want to say Terra told you so, but..."

"What?"

"Did you see how easily they can kill the righteous defenders of the light? How their hearts are so clouded by the darkness that they could murder anything that stands in the path of evil?"

"But Keres isn't-"

"Aqua, it's not too late to come back to the light."

"VEN!"

I woke up in (surprise surprise) the same bed again. I was seriously starting to hate that bed. Come to think about it, I was starting to realize that there isn't much about this place that I actually LIKED. It was always dark, everyone was either a cold-blooded murderer or a possessed freak. I was starting to think that even Joy was a killer too. And then there's Vanitas. God, I hated him. He tried to take Ven away, he hurt Terra, he even tried to kill me. Now he and the Unversed were basically being welcomed and revered as essential for victory in the war against the light.

And that was the worst part.

I was fighting against that which I was meant to defend. Against a former Master. What on earth was I doing?

"That kind of thought could get you killed around here, you know," I heard a cold voice say. I shot up into a sitting position and saw Alfred standing in the doorway to my room. "You're hesitating. That's not exactly healthy."

"What are you doing here?" I asked and looked him straight in the eyes. He seemed shocked that, even though I knew about his ability, I was still staring him down.

"Checking up on you. When Keres told me about what just happened, it rang an alarm in my head, so I decided to check up on you. Apparently, you're having second thoughts about the war with Light."

"I had a dream of my old friends. They told me what you were doing. And I've seen it firsthand. Keres' bloody armor-"

"_Terra's _bloody armor," He interrupted. "He was fighting for his life."

"He was killing people senselessly," I retorted. Alfred just laughed out loud. His laugh honestly scared me. It sounded creepy, yet sincere.

"You think the Blutengels are _people? _You really are amusing..."

"They bleed! They feel pain-"

"They don't feel SQUAT. They're denizens of darkness, kidnapped and horribly tormented to death, and then reanimated using mechanical means. Theyre not even alive."

"But they bleed-"

"That's not blood."

"What?" I was confused and angry.

"That's hydraulic fuel. It's used to move their stiffened limbs without breaking them. I used to be a scientist for the Light, until they tried to experiment on me. The first thing they did was shock me with a device that altered my brain and gave me my optical ability. It was meant to kill me, giving my brain too much pressure to handle, but I survived. They discarded me as a failure, and I crawled all the way over here, where Garnet found me. She tended to me personally, healing my wounds and comforting me when I needed it. I gave the Light EVERYTHING I owned, and they betrayed me. Garnet cured me without expecting anything in return. She even offered to take me back to Radiant Garden. Who's the bad guy here, huh?"

I was tongue-tied. I literally couldn't speak. It couldn't be true. I heard a voice at the back of my head telling me it was all lies. That he was lying to me and that not a word that he said was true. Immediately I could see the smile on Alfred's face turn to an expression of anger. He raised a handaxe and tried to attack me with it, and I closed my eyes, expecting it to kill me then and there, but it never hit me. I opened my eyes to see Keres standing in front of me, his shoulder impaled on Alfred's axe. He dropped his Keyblade and fell kneeling to the floor.

"Keres, she's a Worm..." Alfred growled.

"Alfred, you... will NOT... kill her..." Keres heaved. "I don't care if she's a Worm, she's under MY protection. You want to kill her, you kill me."

"Keres..."

"End of discussion, Alfred..." Keres fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Well if that's the only way, I suppose I can't let confidential info leak out by means of a worm. I'm sorry, Keres, but I have to do this." He drew his axe out from Keres' shoulder and prepared to strike him with it, but I jumped out right in front of him, shielding myself with only my bare hands and closing my eyes. Again, the strike didn't connect. I opened my eyes to see my old Keyblade in my hands, blocking Alfred's axe. He looked like he had been struck by thunder when he saw what I was holding. I took the chance, catching him off guard and knocking the axe out of his hand. Just as I was about to deal the finishing blow on Alfred, Keres got up and blocked my Keyblade with his bare hands.

"No way... My poison failed?!" Alfred was even more astonished now.

"No one's killing anyone else today. You're both Spades. You're both needed. Alfred, get outta here. NOW." Alfred withdrew from my room, quietly muttering to himself.

"Keres, I-"

"Save it," He cut me off. "You don't need to explain a thing to me. I know what they've done to you. They've poisoned your mind with images of Ventus and Terra, brainwashing you and turning you against us. Alfred saw that and decided to take action. Can't say that I blame him for his position on this, because that's usually what happens to Worms, but I won't let him take action on his own. Ugh!" He winced and grabbed his shoulder in pain. I noticed he wasn't wearing his armor, which means the axe was a direct hit.

"Keres, you're hurt!" Keres passed out again. I was panicking. He was poisoned, and I didn't want to lose him. "Esuna!"

It didn't work.

"ESUNA! Why isn't this working?! ESUNA!" My magic wasn't working. I suddenly remembered that I relied on the power of Light for my magic, and this place was devoid of it. "Someone help! Keres is poisoned! Reg! Joy, ANYONE HELP!"

"Esunaga."

I thought my mind was playing tricks on me when I heard that voice. I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked up and saw Vanitas standing above me and Keres, rapidly healing him from Alfred's poison.


	8. Chapter VII

"Did I hear someone call for help?" Vanitas said with his usual smirk, although this time it looked more pained than sarcastic. Keres lay still, unconscious but no longer poisoned.

"Why are you here?" I looked him straight in the eyes. This time, however, I noticed something that I had never noticed before. Vanitas' eyes were completely devoid of the hate and evil that once plagued him. Now all I could see within them was melancholy. I almost pitied him, and my face softened up.

"Stop staring at me like this," he snapped and broke our eye contact. "You're making me feel stupid."

"Why are you here?" I repeated. I wanted to know why he would be willing to help me when his primary goal was to kill me a long time ago.

"Why do I have to be so pathetic?!" He shouted.

"What?" I was confused.

"You were a sitting duck! I could have KILLED you! Why can't I bring myself to do it?!" He looked utterly desperate. Almost as if he was... Crying?

"Vanitas, are you-"

"Shut up!" He really WAS crying. Tears streamed down his face and I saw him looking as pathetic as a creature forged from darkness could get. "I want you DEAD! Why can't I kill you?!"

I was tongue-tied. I had no idea what to say, and even if I did, I probably wouldn't have been able to say it. Vanitas had revealed a completely new side of himself to me. I now realized that, even though he was clad in Darkness and hate from head to toe, he was only a child underneath. I honestly felt sorry for him for the first time in my life.

I couldn't help but speak softly to him. "You don't have to live a life of hate. You can choose a different path."

"It's not about hate! Don't you get it?" He sobbed. "I can't fulfill the purpose for which I was created. I was beaten by Ventus! I couldn't bring myself to kill you even though you're right in front of me! I AM A FAILURE!"

"Vanitas..." I started tearing up as well. After that, I could feel my body moving on its own. I got up and hugged him, catching myself (and him, apparently) by surprise, as he stopped sobbing.

"It's okay. I failed to keep my promise to Ven. I know how you feel." Suddenly, I felt Vanitas' body tense up, and his facial expression changed from sorrow to shock and pain.

"You..." He gasped. Suddenly, I could feel him collapse in my arms and he slipped right through, falling onto the ground.

"Vanitas?!"

"That Esunaga spell must have taken a lot out of him," I heard a familiar voice say. I looked up, and saw someone I had never expected to see again in my entire life.

It was Ven. Not Reginald, but the actual Ventus standing above me and Vanitas.

"Ven!" I immediately shot up and stood on my feet. "I'm so happy to see you, I thought I'd never-"

"Stand aside, Aqua," He said with a tone he never used. It was almost hateful. "I'm going to erase this abomination for good!" He summoned a golden keyblade, the like of which I had never seen him use before.

"Ven, stop! Can't you see? He's just sad! That's why he hides behind a mask of hate!"

"He is Darkness, and Darkness must DIE!" Ven shouted at me. "Or have you become darkness too, Aqua?" He pointed his keyblade at me and I dodged just in time, avoiding his Fira projectile.

"Ven, what are you doing?! Stop this!"

"It's not Ventus!"

"What?" I turned around just in time to see Keres push me down onto the ground, making Ven's second Fira miss me barely and taking the hit himself instead.

"Aqua... Take Vanitas... and get... out of here!" Keres then screamed, blasting Vanitas and me out of my room's window in a burst of tainted Light. Luckily for us, the room was not that high, and Joy broke Vanitas' fall. After I hit the floor, I rolled around and rushed over to Joy's side.

"Joy, take Vanitas to Garnet, he needs medical attention!"

"Did you do this?!" Joy seemed shocked.

"Just GO!" With that, Joy got up on her feet and levitated Vanitas into the air, wrapped him up in a white blanket she spawned out of nowhere, and flew off to HQ.

What did Keres mean when he shouted "it's not Ventus"? He had the same looks, same voice, even the same clothes on. But now that I think about it, Ventus never talked or acted in the hateful manner he was behaving with just now.

I had no time to ponder things now, though. Keres was in trouble, and I HAD to save him.


	9. Chapter VIII

**-Vanitas' Viewpoint-**

"Ugh... Where am I?" I woke up, shaking my head.

"Medical bay," I heard Garnet say. "You used a Light-based spell."

"Yeah, so?"

"It's not like I mind, in fact I applaud it, you saving Keres' life, even risking your own to do so. But why?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you, _mommy,_" I retorted. I hated it when people asked me about my motives, because I never know how to answer, so I just end up cussing at them or something. The truth is, I don't even belong here. I never did. It hurts just to think about the day I was... created. I felt like I was being torn away from my own body.

And then I remembered what happened just a moment ago. It was the first time I had felt anything other than Hate. I always told myself that I hated everything, when the truth was, I felt nothing but sadness. I knew I didn't belong, and so I created others just like me. Others that didnt belong. I named them the Unversed, because that's just what they were, what I was. Something that doesn't belong. They kept me company. They were the only others that knew how I felt, because I didn't want the old fart Xehanort to think that I was weak. So I put on my mask of hate and proclaimed myself an enemy of everything. But Aqua was different. At first, I hated her just like everything else. I nearly killed her, even. But as I watched her wander the darkness, unwavering in her fight against it, I started to actually admire how adamant she was. And then it began. The feeling of actually NOT hating someone. I thought it was a desire for revenge reawakened, but it was much more than that. But there was no way it could have been...

Love?

"Heh..." Garnet chuckled. "As you wish, Vannie."

"Hey!" I half-shouted. I hated it when she called me that. She just laughed. Joy walked into the room.

"Vanitas! Aqua told me to bring you here after you two got blown out her window and-"

"Holy crap, Aqua!" I bolted up from the bed and ran right out of the room. I had to get there before something happened to her. I had no idea why I felt like I needed to protect her, to save her, but the feeling was there, and I couldn't ignore it.

**-Keres' Viewpoint-**

I blasted Aqua and the wounded Vanitas out the window in a blast of energy and now faced the Ventus impostor. That bastard Yen Sid must have sent one of his Blutengels disguised as Ventus to sway Aqua's will and get her to betray us. Lots of nerve on that old haggard.

"You know," The impostor said. "You must not know. Those who know must not live."

"You're the one who must not live, you piece of crap!" I shouted at the Blutengel. He only responded by lunging at me, knocking us both out the window. Not good. If Aqua was still down there, he could get to her, and that was the very thing I was trying to prevent. As we fell, I spun him around so that he broke my fall when we hit the floor. As soon as we landed, him on his back and me on top of him, I started smacking his face with the hilt of my keyblade, knocking loose pieces of his face and dropping some aside, revealing the blindingly bright, faceless visage underneath. The sudden flash of his head threw me off guard for a split second, which was apparently enough for him to kick me off him and get back up on his feet. I did an ukemi and rolled back onto my own two feet as soon as I hit the floor.

"Hah! That all you've got, you faceless freak?!" I screamed at him. He merely stared at me emptily with his one remaining mask-eye and braced himself to attack. I stood in a defensive stance, preparing for impact, when suddenly, he got hit by two Fira spells. I could tell that Aqua fired one of them, as she rushed to my right side, but I had to look around to see where the other, darker one came from.

It was Vanitas.

**-Aqua's Viewpoint-**

When I saw Keres and Ven falling through the window, my mind raced. I was torn between saving Keres or just standing there and watching, but when they landed, I saw that Keres was doing fine on his own, so I did the latter. I watched as Keres smacked the crap out of Ven's face with his keyblade and almost felt like stopping him right there, until a flash of light coming from Ven's face blinded me for a second. When I could see again, half of Ventus' face had literally fallen off and he was standing there with an arched back and a light radiating from where pieces of his face had once been. The impostor charged at Keres with his keyblade held forehand, and thinking fast, I fired a Fira spell at the faceless Blutengel. Not bothering to look for where the second spell hit him, I rushed to Keres' side. Keres, however, wanted to know who else fired that spell, looked around, stopping when he saw a boy armored in black and red. Vanitas stood in the direction where Keres stared and he had a big, evil smile on his face. Seriously, what is with this guy?

"What's wrong, Keres?" Vanitas mockingly chuckled at him. "You kill these things for a living! Don't tell me Bluehead over here is getting you all soft?"

"You wish, spikey!" Keres chuckled back. Just then, the Blutengel rose off the ground and went back to a standing position, pulling the rest of Ven's face off and revealing a completely faceless visage. "Aqua, stand back. Vanitas and I can take care of this."

"But Keres-"

"Go tell Garnet to prepare our defensive forces, Bluey," Vanitas said, still smirking. "Tell her they've broken the truce, and that they're probably already attacking the castle, these punks."

"What about you?" I said, not sure whether I was addressing Vanitas or Keres. I was seriously starting to lose control over my feelings.

"I think Alfred will have our backs. Maybe this time, though, he won't use a poisoned tomahawk, but actually bring out his sword," Keres said with a chuckle. "Won't you, Sephiroth?" Vanitas smiled even wider as the silver-haired man summoned a really long katana and walked to Keres' side, joining the two keyblade masters facing the Blutengel, who was now splitting himself into two separate fighters.

"It was getting annoying, hiding my true self like that," Alfred/Sephiroth said. "As much as I feel like killing you right now, Keres, there seems to be a bigger problem that needs taking care of, now, isn't there?"

"What are you waiting for, Aqua?! GO!" Keres shouted at me and went on to charge at the rapidly duplicating Blutengel mini-squad. I turned around and ran off back to Garnet. What I would see there was something I could NEVER forget.

To be continued in chapter 9


	10. Chapter IX

I rushed into the infirmary's already open door and ran up the stairs as fast as I could. I started calling out for Garnet, Joy, ANYONE, but no one responded. I started getting desperate and running around from room to room, just looking for someone to help me. when I reached the last room on the top floor, I was treated to a sight that would haunt me for the rest of my days. There was blood everywhere. Joy was hanging by the neck from the ceiling with blood dripping from her lifeless mouth, Garnet was impaled on an iron bar sticking out of the floor, her legs barely touching the ground and her arms dangling below her to the sides, and Kazuki was laying on the ground breathing heavily through a bloody mouth, a figure in golden armor standing above him. When I saw that figure's face my heart skipped more than just a beat. It was-

"Terra..." Kazuki choked.

"Good to see you again, Aqua," Terra said to me.

"Aqua... Get the hell ou-" Kazuki was cut off, quite literally. Terra decapitated him with a sickening slash of his keyblade.

"I've come to take you back, Aqua. Back to the Land of Departure so we can start all over."

"Terra..." I sobbed. "What are you doing?"

"I'm taking out the darkness, just as Master Eraqus wanted, Aqua. Have you forgotten?"

"You're senselessly killing people!"

"I am earning my retribution for surrendering to the dark. Never again will I succumb to the darkness-"

"YOU WERE BETTER OFF IN THE DARKNESS!" I screamed at him. He grimaced and shed a tear.

"Aqua... Why are you saying this? Has the darkness taken you, Aqua?!"

"Terra, STOP!"

"I can't let you live if you've chosen that path! Why don't you understand? Light is pure and good! Darkness is evil and must DIE!" He shouted, brandishing his keyblade. He looked at me with a depth in his eyes that only could have come from the REAL Terra. But why? Why was he doing this? And how is he still alive?

He charged at me with his keyblade and I dodged his attack narrowly. He turned around and rushed me again, and again I dodged, but I felt a rush of electricity fill my entire body. I dropped to the floor, feeling numb from head to toe. This was Terra, not some clone, and I was forgetting that when it came to combat, he always bested both me AND Ven together.

"Where's your keyblade, Aqua? Have you lost it to the darkness? Or have you lost your mastery over the years?"

"Terra... Please..." I begged him sobbing, crying, gasping for air. His expression didn't change. One thing that confirmed to me that he was in fact Terra was his keyblade. It wasn't golden like his armor, or like the Blutengels, it was his same old keyblade. It only made me feel worse about him being here. Terra was never like this. He was kind. Cold at times, but kind. He was a friend. This Terra was nothing short of a mortal enemy.

"It hurts me to do this, Aqua. It really does. I never wanted to kill you. But I made an oath to Master Yen Sid-"

"I think she's heard enough, Terra," I heard an elderly woman's voice command. I looked in the direction of the voice and there, standing next to where Garnet's corpse hung, where three fairies dressed in gold and white.

"Flora. Fauna. Merryweather. Leave her to me," I heard him growl through gritted teeth. He wasn't too happy about them meddling.

"Your affections are in the way, Terra," Said the skinniest one. "You can't do this."

"I said leave it to me!" He said more loudly now.

"You are weak, Terra. You gave away too much information because she still means something to you," Said the short fat one. "And Master Yen Sid HATES the weak-"

"Shut the hell up already!" Terra shouted, firing a Dark Firaga at the witches. I watched as they burned in dark flames, their fairy dust turning to ash as they screamed in pain. I then looked at Terra incredulously, and he simply stared back at me with an empty look in his eyes.

"I've gone back to the darkness... WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" He screamed.

"Terra..."

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT! AQUA, THIS IS YOUR GODDAMN FAULT!"

"Terra, please-"

"Shut the hell up!"

He prepared to stab me and I held my hands in front of my face with my eyes shut, expecting the keyblade to go right through me. I heard the sound of a blade penetrating skin, but it wasn't mine. I opened my eyes to see what happened and there was Terra, with a shocked look on his face and another keyblade sticking halfway out of his stomach. With a grunt, he fell to the floor in front of me. Behind him stood Vanitas, panting and bloodied, with a keyblade in his hand.

"Aqua... Are you... okay?" He panted.

"Terra... TERRA!" I fell to my knees beside Terra and turned him over to face me.

"Terra, please don't die, PLEASE don't die!" I wailed with a shaky voice.

"Aqua... You know what... they say... about seeing a... bright *cough* light when you die?"

"Don't say that, Terra, you won't die!"

"It's strange... The only light... that I can see... is... your eyes..." Saying that, his head went limp in my arms. Terra, my friend, brother, and first love, was lying dead in my own frail arms. No... This can't be... because it isn't. This isn't actually Terra, right? Must be a Blutengel... Definitely a blutengel...

"Hahaha... AHAHAHAHAHA!" I was laughing like a maniac. For a moment I was under the illusion that I was happy. Terra was still out there, waiting for me. He was at our house in the Land of Departure, waiting for me. I laughed and laughed. I remember vaguely hearing someone ask me if I was alright and ignoring that person because what he said didn't matter.

Because Terra was waiting for me.


	11. Chapter X

**-Keres' Viewpoint-**

_The final day before the invasion of the light on Castle Oblivion._

Why did she love him so much? What was it about him that made her so deeply infatuated with him that she would go mad at the sight of him dying? This was too much for me to bear. I hated that bastard so much, I just wanted to tear him apart. Seeing Aqua in love with him hurt me more than anyhting. And then Vanitas had to take away my chance to have my revenge and killed Terra himself. I wanted a chance to get back at that bastard for killing my family at the very least, but now I didn't even have that. And then there's Sephiroth just disappearing after the fight with the Ventus clones, leaving me and Vanitas as the only members of the Spades able to fight against the Light, since all the others were dead, and Aqua had gotten afflicted with the worst kind of trauma you've ever seen. This was too much for me to handle.

"Keres, you okay?" Vanitas asked me.

"DO I LOOK OKAY, VANITAS?!" I looked at him with eyes red and raw from lack of sleep and exhaustion. "I haven't slept last night, I've been up all night taking care of Aqua! Do I LOOK okay?!"

"Hell no, you don't," Vanitas said, frowning. Something was bothering him.

"You love Aqua too, don't you?" I said to him, startling him. He looked at me and his face went pale. "Since when?"

"W-what are you talking about?!" He stuttered.

"Just tell me, Vanitas." There was a pause. Vanitas regained his composure and began to speak.

"It started 80 years ago. Precisely at the moment when Xehanort-" I flinched at that word. "-ordered me to kill her. My mind told me to obey, my body was ready to execute, but something else was making me hesitate. I couldn't possibly have a heart, or so I told myself. So why was I having these feelings? When I was about to strike her with the finishing blow, something told me that it was wrong. That I shouldn't do it. I ended up hitting her in a non-vital spot, leaving her unconscious, but still alive. When Ventus and I fought, and I was defeated, I sealed a part of me away inside of him, and this is why I'm standing here in front of you. Something unexpected happened, though, and that was Aqua trying to rescue Terr- *ahem* Xehanort, locking herself in the darkness in the process, and her sealing Ventus away in Castle Oblivion, thus sealing ME away as well. But Ventus was reawakened. And so was I. I was reborn in the Keyblade Graveyard-"

"And you began watching Aqua since then, because Xehanort was no more and you had no master to command you. You were free, and that freedom gave you space to think. You began watching her through your mirror to the darkness, the Unversed. You kept on like this until this day and age, 80 years later, tirelessly watching as Aqua wandered through the empty darkness, waiting for the day when you could meet her," I said. He looked at me like I said some sort of blasphemy. "And now that you've met her, things have changed. At first it was reluctance, and then it turned into love. THAT is what I asked you about. Since when do you love her?"

"Well if you already knew, why'd you make me tell you?" He was annoyed. Suddenly a clatter, as if something had dropped and broken, came from Aqua's room. Vanitas and I bolted to the room to see what the problem was, and when we got there, Aqua was awake. She stared at me and Vanitas, and her mouth slowly started to turn to a smiling yawn.

"Oh, hi, Terra," Aqua said sleepily. I winced, noticeably enough for her to notice. "Terra? You okay?"

"Aqua, it's me, don't you remember me?" I looked in her eyes, bewildered at her calling me Terra.

"Of course I do, silly! How could I forget my Terra?" She got up from bed, walked up to me and kissed my lips. I stared at her, eyes wide open in shock, so shocked I couldn't even kiss her back. I could see Vanitas wince this time, out of the corner of my eye, although his wince was much less noticeable than mine. Aqua pulled back and looked at me concernedly.

"Terra, you don't seem to be okay, are you really alright?" She obviously sounded like she really DID think I was Terra. Was her trauma that bad? She turned her eyes toward Vanitas, and he took a step back in caution. Smart. If she lost her memory from the trauma, she was probably going to attack him.

"Oh, sorry," She said apologetically, which was even weirder to me. "I didn't see you there. I'm Aqua. And you are?"

"Huh?" Vanitas just stood there gawking at her like she was a completely different person. Her trauma was even worse than I thought.

"Aqua," I said, holding back a tear. "This is Vanitas, a friend of mine. Vanitas," I gave him a look that said 'play along'. "This is my girlfriend Aqua."

"O-oh," He said, catching my drift instantly. "Nice to meet you, Aqua, hehe..."

"Nice to meet you too, Vanitas. Terra- are you crying?" Her face went from a smile to an immediate frown as she saw a tear drop from my eye.

"I'm just... I..." I couldn't hold back my sob this time. "I need to be alone, Aqua." I turned around and bolted from the room and out to the dark world outside the remains of the Spades' safehouse, ignoring the loving voice that called out "Terra! Wait!" I ran up to the top of the highest cliff in the Graveyard.

"YEN SID!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I kept screaming out his name over and over until my voice failed me, and I fell to the ground crying. It was all too much for me. Damn this war, damn Aqua, damn Terra, damn Sephiroth, damn it all!

To be continued in chapter 11


	12. Chapter XI

"Did you call my name, heathen of the Dark?" I heard a young, cold voice say to me. It couldn't have been...

I looked up and saw the face of Ventus stare down at me. A tear streamed down my face and I frowned, jump-attacking what I wrongly assumed was another Blutengel. He blocked my attack just as easily as I attacked, and I leaped backwards into a defensive position.

"You're not a Blutengel... Are you using Ventus as a vessel, Yen Sid?!" I was practically enraged. Yen Sid was well over a hundred and ninety years old; his frail human body wouldn't have lasted this long. He must have needed a vessel. A closer inspection of Yen Sid's new face revealed graying hair, pitch-black eyes, and cracks all over what was once Ventus' visage. Sparks of Light flew out of these cracks, and he stared at me coldly. Reg stood beside me and stared in disbelief at his lookalike. He immediately drew his keyblade and charged at Yen Sid. I shouted at him to stop, but I was too late. In a few seconds and a few exchanged blows, Reg was on the ground, coughing up blood after a Poisonaga attack from Yen Sid's golden keyblade, which looked exactly like Reg's.

"Is this the welcome back I get after such a long time, Sora? You children are so impudent..."

"I thought we were through with this, Yen Sid! My brother is NOT Sora!" I charged at him and summoned my keyblade, locking swords with him.

"Oh, Riku, how little you know..." He smiled at me insanely. Just then, Aqua came out of the hideout, Vanitas at her side.

"Terra, Ven, why are you fighting?!" She shouted.

"Aqua, stay back!" Yen Sid and I said simultaneously. I looked him in his empty eyes and struck out at him, but this time he wasn't fast enough to block it. I sent him flying backwards and off the cliff, into the void below. I rushed to the side of the cliif off of which I threw him, only to find him flying back up at me, keyblade in hand. He knocked me down onto the floor, and I did an ukemi and stood back up, rushing him again. He dodged my attack, and jumped in the direction of Aqua. I rushed at him, hoping to catch him off guard, but the tables were turned when he took Aqua as a human shield. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"I'm sorry, Aqua, but I have to do this," He said in a tone of fake sympathy.

"Let her go, you bastard!" I screamed at him.

"Terra is not on our side anymore, Aqua," He said in her ears with a crazy grin at me. "He surrendered to Xehanort, remember?"

"Aqua... Don't listen... To him!" Reg coughed out. Vanitas continued, "He's not Ventus! He stole Ven's body! He's Yen Sid!"

"Will you listen to Vanitas, who tried to kill you?" Ven-Sid said. "Or Terra, who gave into the darkness? Or that boy who copied the shape of my face to fool you?"

"Shut the hell up!" I screamed at him. "Vanitas, heal Reg! I'm taking this bastard down!"

"Or will you trust your only real friend, ME?" With that, he threw her aside and began to attack. I dodged his initial attack, only to be blown back by an energy pulse fired at me from the palm of his hand. I regained my balance and jumped back up, attacking him. I got through his adamant guard after a few violent strokes of my own keyblade and began to hack away at him, putting him down on the ground. He pushed me off with another energy pulse, but when I regained balance, I could easily see that he was having difficulty standing back up. I saw this as my chance to attack, and I rushed at him with full force. I swung my keyblade at his face, but he dodged that attack. I then switched to a backhand hold and was about to stab him when I felt something was off. I then immediately felt a Thundaga spell hit me. I looked to see where it had come from, and found a Blutengel standing about 10 feet away. During the mere second during which I was distracted, Ven-Sid recovered and struck at me, knocking me down. The Blutengel stood above my head, about to finish me off, when Vanitas fired a Dark Firaga at it, blasting it to pieces. Reg was no longer coughing, and they were both ready to join me in my fight. I got up, ready to destroy Ven-Sid once and for all, and felt my keyblade change shape in my hand. I could see it morph into my grandfather's keyblade. Disregarding this transformation, I fired a Dark Bolt at him, which blasted his chest armor to little pieces. It was my chance to finish him off once and for all. I rushed forward with all I had, Vanitas and Reg at my side, but we were intercepted by Blutengels. We began to fight with the 3 Blutengels who appeared to stop us from reaching Ven-Sid, and after a moment of fierce fighting, we came out on top. Vanitas and Reg, however, were too tired to go on, so I charged Sid alone. He had recovered enough to put up a bit of a fight, but he was on the ground in a manner of a few seconds. I was about to stab him through the heart, to finish what he started and avenge the Spades. My keyblade was so close to his heart, I could taste the distance.

"Riku, stop this insanity! You have a role to fulfill!" He implored pitifully.

"Shut up, you son of a-" I was about to deal the finishing blow, when I felt a sharp pain through my back. I looked down and saw Aqua's keyblade sticking out of my chest. She pulled it back out and I began to fall.

"Aqua... Why?" I gasped as I fell to the floor.

"You won't hurt Ven," she said, glaring at me with empty, soulless eyes. I vaguely heard Reg scream out to me, but he too was silenced by Aqua. The last thing I saw before fading away was Vanitas fleeing as Reg's unconscious body was carried onto an airship by Aqua and Ven-Sid.

To be continued in chapter 12.

Yes, Keres is dead. I can't believe I did this to him. Sorry, guys :'(


	13. Chapter XII

**-Vanitas' Viewpoint-**

"Damn it, Sephiroth! Where the hell are you?!"

I had no idea what was going on. I had no idea why Ventus was still alive after all these years. But of one thing I am absolutely sure.

The dark is doomed.

Not only was I the only surviving member of the Spades- whose deaths are engraved deeply in my mind -but Aqua had also defected to the side of the Light. Her defection was the strangest thing I have ever seen. She killed Keres, siding with Yen Sid who had possessed Ventus' body, and went with him back to Disney castle. She seemed to think that Keres was indeed Xehanort, and apparently couldn't even see how defaced and disfigured Ven-Sid's face was. Her trauma at the real Terra's death was too big, and apparently she lost her mind completely. And now Sephiroth abandoned us, abandoned me, as well. No one was left in the resistance force to fight against the Light; the war was practically over. All I had was the Unversed, and the attack on Castle Oblivion was meant to be launched tomorrow. But if they didn't attack the Castle yet, how come Yen Sid had Ventus' body?

"Well well, things aren't looking up for you, are they, Sentiment of Negativity?" I looked up and saw an old man with spiky gray hair and a gray goatee, clad all in black and carrying a Buster Sword on his back.

"Who are..." He seemed familiar for some reason. The way his face looked was reminiscent of an older version of Sephiroth.

"My name has been eaten away by the sands of history," The old warrior sighed. "I do recall a time when I referred to myself as Strife, but I do not recall my first name... It has been almost a century since I've been called by it."

"Cloud," Sephiroth's voice came as a ringing alarm to me. "I sensed your presence nearby. I knew that if I was still here, so were you. And I've finally found you." Sephiroth phased in through a gate of darkness.

"Ah, Sephiroth, my old memory," The old man Cloud responded. "It has been forever since someone called me Cloud. I assume you are here to settle things?"

"Wait, what's going on? How do you know Sephiroth?" I was utterly confused.

"He and I once were one and the same," Sephiroth said to me. "I abandoned you after the battle to find him. He is as much a part of me as Ventus is a part of you."

"And you let Keres die!" I screamed at him. "Aqua and Reg were taken away by Ven-Sid and all the spades are DEAD now! You and I are the only surviving spades!"

Sephiroth, for the first time, actually showed emotion, but it wasn't sadness or remorse. He was angry. Cloud's face twisted into a frown as well.

"Well," Cloud said with a frown in his voice. "What do you think we should do now?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should hand the reins over to Vanitas, huh?" Sephiroth looked at me and smiled a crooked smile.

**-Ven-Sid's Viewpoint-**

My plan to reach the ultimate Light was coming to fruition. All that was left was the invasion on Castle Oblivion. I will restore it to it's former glory, for his sake. Eraqus... Your revenge is nigh.

"Ven..." Aqua. The beautiful, yet ever so gullible Aqua. "Why did Terra give in to the Darkness?" She was too innocent for her own good.

"Xehanort took him," I said with a tear I shed too easily. "He died when Xehanort took him. You didn't kill Terra, you killed Xehanort, Aqua."

"It didn't feel right, though..." She cried. Poor girl. I wish I never had to lie to her, but the scum that was the Darkness needed to be eliminated. I felt bad about Riku, but he was dark and needed to die all the same. Sora's purity was not to be ruined by fragments of darkness.

"Of course it didn't. I didn't want to fight him either, but he was too dangerous. We couldn't let him interfere with-" I should not have said that.

"With what?" Aqua looked at me, confusion evident in her azure eyes.

"Never mind, Aqua," I said, trying to hide the nervousness in my voice. "We must begin preparing for the battle against the forces of Darkness."

"Ven, you're being too strange," Aqua said, sounding more accusatory than concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"I am alright. Begin the preparation for the final battle. There are only a few hours left." I left in a hurry hoping that she would not detect any flaws with my impersonation of Ventus. I walked to the antechamber of the airship to check up on our source of energy.

"You should be grateful that you haven't been destroyed yet, Namine," I said scornfully to the vessel of blackness, disguised in an innocent body. Her lasting pretense on innocence did not fool me. She was shackled against the back walls of the Anteroom by my cables of light, her gaze directed straight at me.

"I would rather have been destroyed than be used by a fake Roxas," She whimpered, tears flowing like rivers from her eyes. "Why are you doing this?!" Her screaming almost touched me for a moment. I shed a single tear, but brushed it away with my armor's sleeve, leaving golden blood flowing from my cheekbone. My vessel's weakness was too much to bear.

"Sora's return must be hasty. We need Castle Oblivion to return him to life, and your false existence will be no more when we have done so. You will thank me for this, Nobody."

"To HELL with you!" She screamed. I silenced her with another cable of light, which extended from my open palm to cover her mouth.

"Hell only awaits the likes of you, Denizen of Darkness." I walked out. I had important preparations to make.

Sora's body will soon be mine.

**-Aqua's Viewpoint-**

Ven was not the same. I was sure of that. The Ven I knew would have beaten himself up over Terra's death over and over. Terra was a brother to Ven. He would never have forgiven me for killing him. I didn't know what made him act like this. He was not the same.

Was he really Ventus? I needed to know. I left my room after donning my armor and started looking for him. When I got to his room, I was met by a redheaded girl clad in Blutengel armor.

"No one enters Master Yen Sid's chamber." She said, her cold, dead blue eyes stared right through mine. She was once beautiful, I could tell, but the expression on her face was frighteningly... dead.

"Yen Sid? This is Master Yen Sid's room? I didn't know he was still alive."

"No one enters Master Yen Sid's chamber." This time, she brandished a sword of pure gold and attacked me. I drew my keyblade and defended myself against her attack. I attacked her back, shattering her shoulder armor. She rebounded and attacked me with a backhand stroke of her sword, and I dodged that attack, rebounding with a stab. She blocked it with her sword, and our swords were locked together. At this, the door of the room opened.

And Ven stepped out of the room.

To be continued in chapter 13/the finale.


	14. Chapter XIII - Part 1

**-Sephiroth's Viewpoint-**

"Don't take me wrong, Vanitas," I said to the spiky-haired boy, smiling. "I have absolutely nothing against going in there, guns blazing, but don't you think there's a smarter way to do it, minimizing the losses?" Cloud looked at me, wide-eyed at my statement.

"Since when do YOU care about minimizing losses, Sephiroth?" He said, half-sarcastic, half-incredulous.

"It doesn't matter," Vanitas said, dismissing us both. "The Unversed are infinite in number, since they come from my own emotions. Our army is quite literally infinite."

"But if you fall, so does the entire army, Vanitas. Are you really willing to risk it all for something we aren't even sure of?"

"I hate to agree with Sephiroth, but he's right on this one," Cloud said. "If you go right in there without any preparation, you're screwed."

"To hell with that!" Vanitas shouted, slamming his hand on the broken HQ table. "Aqua doesn't have much time, they're gonna kill her if we don't move in soon!" Silence fell on us. It wasn't the kind of silence you usually get when people are quiet, but it was dead silence. There was literally no sound at all, not even a ringing in our ears. Something was up.

And I didn't like it.

-**Aqua's Viewpoint-**

Ventus walked out of Yen-Sid's room, clad in a new suit of armor. It looked nothing like the one he was just wearing before I came looking for him; it was white and golden, with several black streaks along the sides of the torso. It also looked a lot like the armor this guard was wearing. That was odd. He never wore anything that... regal.

"Ven! Help!" I shouted to him. He only gave me a brief surprised look, and then his face turned to a frown. The odd thing was, he was frowning at me, not the redheaded guard.

"Aqua," He said coldly. "You shouldn't have come to my chamber. Now you've gone and upset Kairi, too. Foolish girl."

"...What?" I was completely bewildered. "What do you mean, YOUR chamber? Isn't this Yen-Sid's-" It struck me like a bullet. Something in my mind began to tick. His armor, his attitude, his choice of words, it just wasn't...

It wasn't Ventus. It was NOT Ventus standing in front of me. I don't know how it was possible, but it was definitely Yen-Sid standing there, clad in golden armor and carrying a gilded keyblade.

"Heheheheh... It looks like you've finally snapped out of it Aqua." I looked at his face, and everything suddenly flooded back to me. Yen-Sid was the enemy. This was 80 years after the last time I saw Ventus. Yen-Sid took his body, apparently. I saw the cracks, cuts and scars on his face, and I could hardly even recognize it as Ven anymore. I remembered the impending war. I remembered how the Spades were all killed. I remembered how Vanitas killed the real Terra, how I broke down. And then came the worst memory.

I killed Keres with my own hands.

Just when I made that realization, I was smacked in the side by Kairi's keyblade, knocking me down to the ground. Yen-Sid then walked over to me so that he was standing above my head.

"I was hoping to utilize you in the battle against Castle Oblivion-"

"How could you do this to me?!" I screamed at him, rolled back, and charged at him, but before I could reach him, I was intercepted yet again by Kairi. We locked blades and exchanged blows, her striking at me from the side, me striking her shoulderpads, and we went on like this for a few minutes, until Yen-Sid took a cheap shot at me and struck me with a Blizzaga when my back was to him, knocking me down yet again. I pulled an Ukemi just in time to intercept a double attack from Kairi and Yen-Sid, dodging it just before it struck me. I ducked, and then struck Kairi with an uppercut assisted by the handguard of my keyblade. I took the chance while she was stunned and unleashed a series of slashes on him, breaking chips off his armor here and there, and doing quite a bit of heavy damage on his keyblade. I knocked him into a stagger, but just as I was about to deal a finishing blow, Kairi interfered again. She struck my back, knocking me down once more. Her strike was so powerful that it knocked the air out of my lungs, and when I fell to the floor, I was desperately trying to breathe, and even when I could, I couldn't even move. How could I let myself be so careless?

"Before I finish you, Aqua, I would like to clear things up for you," He said with a smirk. "The Terra that Vanitas killed was, in fact, the real Terra. I would have saved him, but he killed my own favourites, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. He was expendable. His death was actually rather advantageous to me, because if it weren't for that, you wouldn't have fallen into a state of trauma. That trauma assisted me in killing my most formidable foe, whom I was originally intending to use as a vessel for Riku. You know him as Keres. The Spades are all gone now, and so, after your death, no one will be left to stand in my way."

"Such a shame," Kairi said, sounding almost human for the first time. "We could have utilized you for the greater good. Too bad you had to come here, of all places. Now you have to-" There was a rumbling sound, as though something exploded nearby.

"What was that?!" Yen-Sid said. "Kairi, you go check on it, I'll finish this."

"Yes, my liege," Kairi said and ran off.

"Why?" I said in a sob.

"Why, you ask? It is simple. It is because the Darkness must be eradicated. Evil must be removed. Now prepare to die."

As Yen-Sid brought down his keyblade, I heard a new voice.

"That's just about enough, now."

**-Cloud's Viewpoint-**

It was a good thing the Blutengels still recognized me as a denizen of Light. That made it all to easy to reach Yen-Sid in time to stop him from killing Aqua. I'll be damned, Vanitas was right. I intercepted Yen-Sid's sword just as it was about to pierce Aqua's chest armor.

"Cloud, what the hell are you doing?!" Yen-Sid exclaimed.

"Stopping a madman from ruining the balance of the world," I answered coldly. Yen-Sid had lost his mind, and I was not about to let a batshit insane control freak control the balance of all things. "Isn't that right, Sephiroth?" At that word, Yen-Sid's face went from shocked to outright terrified.

"Wh-" Before he could even speak, Sephiroth slashed him right away from Aqua. While Sephiroth and he were busy, I helped Aqua up, giving her a piece of Materia so she could regain some of her energy.

"Are you alright, Aqua?" I asked her.

"Who are you?" She looked bewildered.

"No time, Vanitas is at the bridge of this ship, go to him!"

"But-" I cut her off.

"GO!"

She got up, gave me a thankful look, and ran off in the direction of the bridge. I then joined Sephiroth in his fight against Yen-Sid.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER XIII - PART 2


	15. Chapter XIII - Part 2

-**Vanitas' Viewpoint-**

I had no idea what I was doing, but I was sure of one thing. This was a suicide run. In fact, if it weren't for Sephiroth and Cloud heading the charge and me at the back, the entire Unversed army would have been wiped out completely by the defending Blutengel forces. I barely managed to make it to the ship's bridge when the density of the Blutengels became too much for me to handle. I tried holding out as best I could, spawning new unversed every time one fell, but the Blutengels were destroying Unversed at a much higher rate than I was making them. I was in deep trouble, so I sent out Cloud and Sephiroth to go on ahead and save Aqua in time. After about 20 minutes of fighting or so, I finally saw her get out from inside the ship's main artillery gate, and- Oh no, this was bad!

Aqua was being targeted by a swarm of Blutengels. against one or two, she may have held out, having restored full use of her keyblade, but there were about thirteen of these bastards attacking her.

"Aqua, look out!" I shouted to her. As soon as I did that, I sent about a hundred small Unversed to her side. Should be enough of a distraction until I get to her, at least.

I used a gigantic Dark Reflect spell, destroying about eight of the Bluts surrounding me, and that gave me enough time to rush to Aqua's side just as the last of the defensive Unversed wall I built around her faded away.

"Are you alright, Aqua?"

"Barely! What kept you?!" She shouted back at me and launched a Triple Firaga spell, ending the lives of three Bluts.

"Did you forget about the Spades?!" Just then I saw her freeze. Not good. I jumped in the way of a Blutengel attacking her head on and used a Reflect, making it stab itself.

"Aqua, pull it together!" I shouted at her. Just as she snapped out of it, she jumped into the air, striking down five more Bluts with her keyblade.

"Right!"

The ensuing battle lasted for quite a while, and after a really long time fighting, Aqua and I were exausted. Luckily, we had seen the last of the Blutengels die. Unlike my Unversed, the Bluts were not endless. They were resurrected corpses put into the armor Yen-Sid designed, and they were limited. As soon as we finished them all off, I saw Aqua collapse to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself, shivering.

"Aqua!" I rushed to her side. "You okay?" She didn't answer, but stayed there, sobbing and shivering, hugging herself. "Aqua, look at me, look at me!" She turned her head to face me, tears streaming down her face. I put my hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.

"I killed all those people... Vanitas, I'm scared..." She chokingly sobbed. She really looked frightened. "What am I turning to?"

"Aqua, pull it together! Yen-Sid's still in there! Cloud and Sephiroth are waiting for us inside, come on!" I said. "Please, Aqua, we need you for this..."

I looked into her eyes once again. What I saw assured me completely of what I had suspected before. I was completely and madly in love with Aqua. I hugged her, doing the only thing that came naturally. She gradually put her arms around me as well, and we sat there for about a minute or so, just embracing each other. When we finally stopped hugging, I got up, took Aqua's hand and helped her up.

"Let's go," she said. "We shouldn't keep them waiting."

-**Ven-Sid's Viewpoint-**

I was astounded at Cloud's betrayal. He was my most talented officer, capable of just about everything. He had the power to create a new world, the power to destroy the old, and yet he sides with the darkness. No matter. I'll strike him AND his dark counterpart down.

"Feeling old yet, Yen-Sid?" Sephiroth said mockingly.

"Quite so, One-Winged angel of death," I replied. "In fact, it is that very thing that caused me to wage this war. I need a new body, for this one is crumbling fast. And I happen to find Sora's body to be a promising prospect." Cloud frowned at this.

"So this whole crusade against the dark was just for you to acquire a new body?" He was honestly shocked, and I found it incredibly amusing. "You're pathetic!"

He charged me head on, and I dodged his Buster Sword's swing just barely. Sephiroth took this chance and struck at me with his sword, hitting me in my upper left arm. I recoiled from the strike and charged Cloud, engaging both him and Sephiroth together. I had to give them credit, they could really fight. This was the most fun I've had in ages. But all things must come to an end, I suppose. I went all out, attacking them both with devastating force and blinding speed. The more they blocked, the more persistent I got with my attacks. Kairi also joined me by my side, and we teamed up with and attacked Cloud and Sephiroth, pulling out all the stops. Just as it seemed like we were winning, however, I saw Kairi's torso get pierced through the stomach...

By Aqua's keyblade.

**-Aqua's Viewpoint-**

I killed that girl. And I didn't regret it. I no longer had regrets. My pity for Vanitas had turned into something more. I felt vile for forgetting about Keres so quickly, but I always trusted the one thing that kept me sane, and it was my feelings. I felt something for Vanitas at this point that I didnt want to lose.

Pulling my keyblade out of Kairi's lifeless corpse, I charged Ven-Sid and struck with all my speed, precision and strength, synchronizing my attacks with Cloud, Sephiroth and Vanitas. At this point Ven-Sid was practically a punching bag. Just as we made sure of his death, Reg emerged from his chamber. But he didnt look the same. In fact, he looked exactly like Vanitas, but with brown hair and blue eyes, and he was radiating a light so strong it melted Sephiroth's body away into fragments of darkness.

Sora was resurrected.

To be continued in the Epilogue.


	16. Explanation for ambiguities

Okay, before the final chapter begins, let me explain some stuff that was probably not that easy to understand. Ven-Sid referred to Keres as Riku because Keres is Riku's grandson, and that is why he can use Terra's armor; because Riku is Terra's keyblade heir. Kairi only stayed alive for so long because she was artificially preserved by transplanting her brain into a mechanical Blutengel body. Namine is also still alive because she is Kairi's nobody, and Nobodies have no definite period of time during which they can remain alive. Namine acts as the power source for Ven-Sid's airship. The whole thing with Kazuki was just a filler for the story (and a terribly written one as well :( ) that I wrote just to make the total number of chapters XIII (for those who get the reference). The Terra that died at the hands of Vanitas was, in fact, real, because the split between Ansem and Xemnas, which Xehanort's heartless transformation created, caused Terra's heart to be embedded inside the Nobody, Xemnas. Terra's return was the result of the light being brought back to Xemnas, which brought out Terra's heart again. He kills the spades to prove his worth of the gift of new life given to him by Yen-Sid, but still fails to keep his darkness in check when he kills Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. Sephiroth used tomahawk axes instead of his sword at first in order to hide his identity. Yen-Sid's body faded away over the years, and so he took over Ventus' body, which was actually Roxas' body, but Mickey mistook it for Ventus' when he brought it to Yen-Sid. That was why Namine still recognized him as Roxas. His cracked up face and pitch-black eyes are a result of his body giving out after eighty years of use, which is the reason he needed Sora's dormant body. As for Aqua being rescued from the darkness by Keres, it was simply a matter of the advanced technology of the age. Reg was the vessel for Sora's heart because of Sora's daughter marrying Riku's son and giving birth to Reginald and Keres.

That was the explanation of pretty much every vague thing i could think of. If you have any further questions, put them in the reviews and I will answer as soon as I can. Thanks for being such awesome readers, and wait just a bit more for the Epilogue. I promise it will come soon!


	17. Epilogue

**-Aqua's Viewpoint-**

I watched incredulously as Sora stepped out of Ven-Sid's chamber. He was clad in Ven's armor, without his helmet. He radiated a light so strong that it literally decomposed Sephiroth into wisps of darkness that quickly disappeared, leaving nothing behind but his sword. All I could see for a while after that was pure, painful whiteness. At that moment, I realized…

"When the Light grows too strong, it blinds those who wield it."

Keres was right. There was no comfort in this light, no warmth. There was only pain.  
As the light began to subside, Cloud, Vanitas and I watched as it was reduced to an aura of golden flames around Sora's body. I saw his face contort into a wrathful grimace when he saw Kairi's dead body on the ground.

"Why did you kill her?" He asked. Tears were streaming down his face.

"She wasn't even alive," I began to answer, but Sora didn't want to hear it. He summoned his keyblade.

"He's past convincing now, Aqua," Cloud said to me. "All he wants now is revenge." At that same moment, I saw Vanitas stand and summon his own keyblade, pointing it straight at Sora. He simply looked Sora in the eyes silently. Sora stared back into Vanitas' eyes and they kept staring at each other for a few minutes, as if having a silent conversation. Suddenly, the room began to get darker and darker, and I noticed Vanitas was radiating darkness through a portal he opened behind him. Strangely enough, no Unversed came out of the portal, but only a pure, terrifying darkness. Sora countered the darkness by releasing a light of epic proportion, but the stronger the Light grew, the deeper the darkness became, and I felt that this skirmish of light and dark symbolized the worlds and their hearts.

"I have to say, Sora," Vanitas said, with a complete lack of jest in his voice. "Your ability to control the light is impressive. But you seem to have forgotten that the stronger the light gets, the bigger one's shadow becomes."

"Why did you kill Kairi?!" Sora screamed at him. Vanitas simply smiled at Sora.

"Why don't you beat it out of me?" God, if it wasn't for the difference in their tones of speech, I'd say they even sounded the exact same. Sora charged at Vanitas, enraged at his mockery of Kairi's death, not knowing that I was the one who killed her. Vanitas blocked Sora's attacks deftly, parrying here, deflecting a spell there, occasionally landing a strike on Sora's armor and taking hits on his own. The battle was incredibly fast paced, but at one point they stopped. Sora then raised his keyblade up to the ceiling and blasted a hole in it, through which he and Vanitas jumped out onto the topside of the airship.

Cloud and I exchanged a brief glance, nodded to each other, and jumped right after them. When we got to the topside, what we saw was phenomenal. Sora had summoned a giant angel-like monster and Vanitas called forth the biggest, darkest unversed he could come up with. When both the summons were brought into play, Vanitas and Sora charged each other, attacking each other in a flurry of strikes and sending off sparks everywhere. Meanwhile, their summons fought each other in a colossal battle for survival. And that was what it was. It was no longer a battle to save the darkness or to let the light rule. It was now a fight to the death between the cores of light and darkness themselves. Soon, however, the tides began to turn in Sora's favor. Vanitas' summon was beginning to weaken, and Sora was continuously feeding his own summon with Light energy. Sora also summoned a second keyblade -the one Ven-Sid was wielding- and began hacking away at Vanitas like crazy. Vanitas was sustaining serious damage, and he looked like he was losing. Just then, I saw a girl with blonde hair dressed in a white dress emerge from the hole through which we got to the topside, holding in her hands Ven's body.

"Give this to Vanitas. It's your only hope right now." She said to me.

"Who are you?" I asked her.

"I'm Namine," She answered with a smile. "Yen-Sid was using me as a power source for this ship, and now that he's dead, I'm free to move as I wish." Cloud stared at the girl incredulously.

"Namine," he began to ask her. "You wouldn't happen to be Kairi's nobody, would you?"

"I am, actually," she answered with a giggle. "But Kairi's dead now, so I don't have much time left before I fade away. Aqua, do as I told you. Goodbye!"

"Wait!" I had so many questions to ask her, but she simply faded away into sparkles of the faintest light. I looked back at the battle and saw that Vanitas was seriously in danger. Cloud rushed over to Vanitas' side and began to back him up, but it wasn't long before Cloud was pushed to his limit. In the end, Cloud's sword was shattered to pieces, and Sora lifted him up by the head and threw him off the ship. I wondered what I could do, and suddenly I remembered that if Vanitas and Ventus merge, they could unlock the door to Kingdom Hearts, the ultimate Darkness.

I carried Ven's dead body and began to tear up, whispering a silent apology, and reached Vanitas just as he was about to be pierced by Sora's Keyblades. I got in the way of the attack, throwing Ven over to Vanitas. Sora's keyblades tore chunks off my armor, leaving me barely covered and laying on the ground, bruised and broken. The last thing I saw before I passed out was Vanitas, now with Ven's face, carrying the fully powered X-Blade and tearing a hole in the sky through which I managed to catch a glimpse of Kingdom Hearts in all of its radiant and destructive glory.

**-Vanitas' Viewpoint-**

I finally did it. The purpose for which I was created. I had finally merged with Ventus and created the X-Blade, releasing Kingdom Hearts. And the look on Sora's face at the moment he saw me and what I was carrying was absolutely PRICELESS. All I did was lift up the X-Blade and his summon completely dissipated into flickers of light.

"So, wanna actually fight fair now, Sora?" I chuckled at him.

"What are you?!" He screamed at me.

"Again…" I said mockingly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

In desperation, he charged at me in full force and began to swing his keyblades at me, his face showing rage and despair at the same time. His eyes were wide as he took swing after futile swing at my new weapon, and I was laughing my heart out on the inside. After messing around with him for a bit, I decided to show him a bit of what I was capable of. I blew him away with a pulse of energy from my weapon, and he stumbled around on the floor. I phased through the air to his side, and put my foot down on his chest. I kicked him away and he got up with obvious effort.

"I haven't even started yet, Sora," I laughed maniacally. "Don't go dying on me now!"

"Y-you…" He coughed. I phased again and struck at him. This time, however, he had two new keyblades in his hands, and he and I entered an all-out weapon lock. I drew upon Kingdom Hearts' power and broke through his defenses, but he retaliated by making his keyblades fly right back at me, catching me off guard. I rebounded off the ground and rushed back at him. He was strong. I couldn't afford to lose this battle.  
After a period of time spent hacking and slashing away at each other, I decided to take in the full force of Kingdom Hearts. I knew it was dangerous, but my X-Blade had the capacity for it, so I did it. I unleashed a single attack on Sora, shattering both his keyblades and his armor, and leaving him splayed out on the floor. I was almost completely drained myself, so I effortfully dragged myself over to his side and poised my now damaged X-Blade to stab him in the heart. There was literally nothing left of his power except the final vestiges of his strength.

"It's over."

"Vanitas, wait!" I heard Aqua shout to me.

-?-

And thus, Vanitas crowned himself as the ruler of Castle Oblivion, where he had full possession of the power of Darkness.

Aqua returned to the realm of light, having freed it of Yen-Sid's tyranny. She was crowned the new Queen of Disney Castle, but she took no joy in her newfound royalty. Eventually, she relinquished the throne and went to Castle Oblivion, where she would spend the rest of her days as Vanitas' Empress.

Sora returned to Destiny Islands, where he forever mourned the death of his friends and lover, Kairi. He would later die of heartbreak, leaving Destiny Islands a place of solitude and silence.

The airship upon which Kairi's body lay was destroyed as a result of Namine no longer being able to provide it with the power it needed.

Vanitas never killed Sora, but gave in to Aqua's pleas to let him live, that if they killed him they would be no different from Yen-Sid.

The wasteland where the hideout of the Spades once was vanished into darkness. No one knew what became of it.

So ends the tale of Aqua and her return from darkness.

Fin.


End file.
